Centers | EMIC

Jess Totten

Jess Totten is a principal of the Austin, Texas energy consulting firm Stratus Energy Group. Prior to joining Stratus, he worked for 23 years at the Public Utility Commission of Texas, in a number of management, legal, and policy positions.

Mr. Totten played a leadership role at the PUCT in addressing a range of electricity issues, including wholesale and retail competition, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. He led the PUCT efforts to develop a framework for designating Competitive Renewable Energy Zones and selecting transmission companies to build the CREZ facilities. He also participated in the development of the Annual Baseline Assessment of Choice in Canada and the United States (ABACCUS), a set of criteria used to evaluate the retail electric competition regimes in North America.

Mr. Totten wrote a chapter on Texas transmission policy in Electricity Restructuring: The Texas Story, AEI Press, 2009, and an article on the development of competition in Texas published in the Environmental and Energy Law and Policy Journal, University of Houston, in 2005.

Prior to joining the PUCT, Mr. Totten served as deputy general counsel of the Panama Canal Commission. He has a BA from Rice University and a JD from the University of Texas Law School.